Mike McClure (born July 6, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer from

Tecumseh, Oklahoma Tecumseh () is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. The population was 6,302 by the 2020 United States census. It was named for the noted Shawnee chief, Tecumseh. The locale was designated as the county seat at Oklahoma's statehood, but a co ...

. He is currently the frontman for the Mike McClure Band. McClure is a founding member of The Great Divide, and was a member until he and the band parted ways in 2002. The Mike McClure Band consists of McClure (guitar, vocals), and Caleb Shirtum (bass). McClure got his start in

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...

, and would hang out and play music at the notorious "Farm" with other Red Dirt artists such as

Bob Childers Robert Wayne Childers (November 20, 1946 – April 22, 2008) was an American country music, country-folk music, folk musician and singer-songwriter from the state of Oklahoma. Both before and after his death, he achieved widespread critical acc ...

, Tom Skinner, and Scott Evans. After forming The Great Divide with J.J. Lester, Scotte Lester, and Kelley Green in 1992 and contributing to six studio albums and one live two-part album, McClure set out to do his own thing. In 2002, while still a member of The Great Divide, he released Twelve Pieces, his first solo album. When Mcclure initially formed his own band, it featured Les Paul Clanton on bass and Rodney Pyeatt on guitar. Both went to do other projects. After recruiting Tom Skinner (bass) and Eric Hansen (drums), McClure had his band together. In 2004, The Mike McClure Band released their first album Everything Upside Down, a hard-hitting rock album. McClure often uses the quote that his new band is "twice as loud, and half as popular." Since the first album, the band has put out seven more albums, including the 2004 collaboration with the Burtschi Brothers of

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

. After the death of Tom Skinner in July 2015 and the departure of Hansen, the band took on its current look. As a songwriter and producer, McClure has collaborated with many other Red Dirt artists. He has become the permanent producer for

Cross Canadian Ragweed Cross Canadian Ragweed is an American country and rock band formed in Yukon, Oklahoma in 1994. The original members of the band is how the name was formed. Cross- Grady Cross, Canadian- Cody Canada, Rag- Randy Ragsdale, Weed- Matt Wiedemann. The ...

. Usually contributing also as a songwriter, he has produced five of their seven studio albums, jokingly earning him the title of "prodouchebag". McClure has also produced albums by other artists around the scene such as

Stoney LaRue Stoney LaRue (born Stoney Larue Phillips; 1977) is an American Texas country/ Red dirt artist. Life and career Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in Yanush/Buffalo Valley, Oklahoma, where he still visits regularly and began playing country m ...

, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Scott Copeland, Johnny Cooper,

Whiskey Myers Whiskey Myers is an American rock and roll band from Palestine, Texas composed of Cody Cannon (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), John Jeffers (lead guitar, slide guitar, lap steel guitar, vocals), Cody Tate (lead and rhythm guitar, vocals), Jef ...

, and the

Turnpike Troubadours The Turnpike Troubadours are an American country music band from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, founded in 2005. They started their own imprint, Bossier City Records, in 2007 and have released six studio albums. Their self-titled 2015 album peaked at num ...

. In 2011 McClure produced and recorded with
The Damn Quails
releasing "Down the Hatch" in October 2011. In 2014, McClure produced and recorde
The Chris Brazeal Band
releasing their 3rd album "A Heart Like Yours" in September 2014. He appears on their cover of Hal Ketchum's "Small Town Saturday Night" On February 27, 2022 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

Music videos

Notable appearances

"I'd Rather Have Nothing", written by McClure and originally recorded by The Great Divide was recorded by

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

for his 2005 Limited Series Box Set on the album ''

The Lost Sessions ''The Limited Series'' is the name of Garth Brooks' second box set of albums. (It is also the name of his first box set). The set was released in 2005 to be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. It comprises his studio albums '' S ...

''. It has sold over 2 million copies. "Fighting For", written by McClure and

Cody Canada Cody Jay Canada (born May 25, 1976) is an American rock/alt-country musician who currently is the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock bands Cody Canada and The Departed since 2011 and Cross Canadian Ragweed from 1994 to 2010, and again s ...

reached number 39 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. It was recorded by

for their album ''

Garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

''. McClure has been working with Joe Hardy since "Foam".

References

External links

Band website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClure, Mike 1971 births Living people American country rock singers 21st-century American singers